Black Heart
by Chowdergal
Summary: And so he thought he tricked Death into giving up his title as Grim Reaper and saved his loved ones. He couldn't have been more wrong. USUK; Prequel to Eternally
1. Chapter 1

_**This fanfic happens to be a prequel of my other story; Eternally. Here, this story tells the tale of how Alfred became the Grim Reaper and several things that happened along the way leading up to his and Arthur's meeting. Be warned, you might cry a little bit…just a bit….**_

_**And yeah, I might've bended history a bit for my own purposes, so there might be historical inaccuracies. ^^' Ah, well! Enjoy and review! owo**_

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Rebirth<strong>

The so called new world was supposed to be a land of wealth, discovery; a place where settles could start over in a new life; forgetting their past troubles or anything else they were to have left behind in England. However, for the settlers of Roanoke, it was a living hell. This was the second attempt at colonizing the area, and even though Indian relations had been well as opposed to the fore settlers of the land, there seemed to be a strange, lethal sickness floating around. No treatments seemed to be helping at all; every week, one man or woman seemed to fall prey to the illness' clutches.

Despite their hardships, young colonist Alfred Jones remained strong; doing his best to aid the best to the elderly and comfort the sick as best he could. He chopped the wood for shelter and firewood, trying to please the townsfolk. He wasn't about to let this settlement, like the previous Roanoke colony to fail.

And in return the townspeople admired him, urging the few women to try and marry him. "He's a fine gentleman." they would say. "It'd be a shame to waste someone like him."

However, no one would suspect that when a woman tried to court him, he would embarrassing turn the other way, shaking his head. He had a secret. A secret that he knew would bring only shame and scorn to the family. Alfred had no desire to settle down with a woman. In fact, his eyes were on that of a man; a man nearly about his age. His name was Arthur and he in return, thought of the colonist the same way. Whenever their eyes fell on one another, the same feelings erupted from underneath their skin. But, in the eyes of the Church, they were only to be seen as friends. Despite this, they met secretly after everyone had gone into their cabins.

While everything around the two lovers just got worse, they remained strong. Until the first signs of illness showed up upon Arthur's face. It wasn't long before the poor colonist became bedridden, becoming worse every passing day. Alfred did his best to provide him with comfort any chance he could, and yet, Arthur seemed to be slowly slipping away from him. The young colonist silently damned and demanded what was causing the source of this unknown sickness to show itself.

And soon enough, he got his wish.

There, emerging out of the thick fog was a peculiar hooded figure. His movements were smooth and ghost like. Mothers pulled their children close while even the fiercest of dogs backed behind their owners, watching with just as much curiosity and fear as the humans. The ghastly presence of the figure convinced the people that this couldn't be a human being like themselves; no….it was rather something all people knew and feared what would happen to them eventually.

The thing stopped in its tracks, causing nearly everyone to hold their breaths. Suspense lingered in the atmosphere, everything seemed to have stopped. Then, in a deep, raspy, yet overwhelming voice, the figure spoke;

"_People of this colony; give to me your young ones, your old, your weak and dying…yourselves….so that I may take them to the other side." _

No one in the colony budged a bit, everyone was too frightened to say a word or to step forward and confront the mysterious figure. In those tense moments, Death heard a cough coming from inside the cabin the people were all gathered around. Gilding across the ground, everyone who was in his path to the door immediately parted for him. For even the slightest touch might end their lives once and for all.

It proceeded to enter the room, where Arthur now laid. Crouched next to him was Alfred, staying faithfully by the other's dying side as he placed a warm cloth over his head. When he felt death's presence, he completely turned white and whipped around. Oh, he knew who it was; but instead jumping immediately to his feet or shrinking down with fear, he stayed rooted to the spot.

The reaper motioned Alfred to step aside with the blade of his scythe. The colonist still didn't move an inch away; instead he threw himself upon his lover's pale figure.

"No, I won't let you take him!"

"_It is his time to leave…he will never recover, nor will the little girl in the other cabin….in fact, this entire colony was doomed from the start, one by one….you will all slowly perish…."_ What it said nearly made the colonist sick to his stomach. In due time, they all…every last one of them were to die at death's feet?

"I beg thee; please have mercy. Leave all these people alone. Take away the plague you have bought upon them so that they might grow to see their grandchildren and even great grandchildren."

"_I cannot stop what has been done." _Death stated simply, becoming impatient at the man's stubbornness.

"Then take me; take me away from the Earth in exchange!"

"_You have bravery boy, but one soul of a young man is not equivalent to entire population of people."He inched closer to Arthur's pale body. "There is nothing you can trade for…"_ At this, Alfred clutched the body tighter, tears dropping onto it. They weren't just for his lover; they were for also him and everyone else…

"Then how about I offer to take your place; release you from your duties in exchange for leaving them alone?"

A long pause followed soon after. Alfred could feel his own heartbeat pump to the steady, yet terrifying tapping of the reaper's fingers.

"_Boy, a very foolish choice that would be. If you were to be a reaper….you would cease to have any joyful emotions. You would feel no love, and nor would you have it in return. Everyone that the blade punctures would be a result of your own doing. The only companion will be you sorrow and your weapon. You'd be better off dead than live a life like that." _

"Please…." the man moaned, sinking to his knees. "I want this…..I want to save him…."

Another pause followed soon after. After some contemplation, the figure finally spoke.

"_Once you accept…you'll never be able to take it back, no matter how gruesome it gets. Are you sure you're willing to take the position? Or are you uncertain of what you want?"_

Alfred's head snapped up, looking at the reaper with such fierce determination in those blue eyes that even Death himself felt afraid for a second. He rose to his feet, standing between the body and the other.

"I know what I want." he stated. "If it can save lives, I'll accept."

"…_You'll never be able to go to heaven."_ The Reaper sneered as if to drive the boy away from continuing on with this plan of his. _"Isn't it your kind's dream to visit the better place beyond this world?"_ The colonist gave a bitter smile in return.

"I wasn't going there anyway." He made a slight glance towards Arthur before looking back at Death. "Do we have a deal or not?"

The Reaper slowly raised an emaciated hand for the young lad to shake. _"Remember, this was of your own doing…" _A few seconds later, Alfred felt his hand slip into the other's cold one. He gasped. All the cold from just that hand seemed to be spreading throughout his entire body. The feeling filled his arms, legs, and mind. He could feel his heart becoming chilled, unnecessary for him to continue on his existence. The world around him became nothing but a dizzying blur, and that Alfred was sure that he would collapse onto the ground, dead; and that Death had lured him into giving up his own life.

Then the cold stopped, only to be replaced by stabbing pains that jabbed at his entire body. Alfred screamed out in agony, dropping down to the floor and twisting around with all sorts of pain. And for a second, he could hear more than just his screams, but screams of the innocent, the guilty, men and women. Elder and Child. It was then at that moment when he was in so much pain that he would rather die than experience anymore than he had already had.

And like a heart that just pumped its last bit of life, it stopped. The colonist laid there on the ground motionless, as if he were dead. Everything around him felt cold, unwelcoming, like he'd unwillingly stepped right into the deepest layers of the mountains. He couldn't move. Was he dead? Was he alive? Or rather, was he somewhere in between the two? He finally, yet unsteadily, rose to his feet, glancing at his surroundings with piercing sapphire eyes. They were indeed the same, but….something felt different about them. The trees moaned from outside, telling of their woeful tales of Indian Wars and diseases it had witnessed. The wood creaked below him, groaning about the various people who had stepped on it. Even the grass seemed to have a tale or two. In this new startling life, everything had come alive…

For him to destroy.


	2. Chapter 2

He looked around in search of the previous reaper, in hopes of some guidance as in what to do. But alas, the figure was nowhere to be found. Alfred gritted his teeth slightly in frustration.

Then he remembered his beloved.

"A-Arthur?" he called softly, kneeling again next to the pale man. To his surprise and joy, emerald eyes peaked out from under those eyelids.

"Alfred? W-Where am I? A-All I remember is getting an awful headache and passing out. After that, everything's a blur to me." At this Alfred smiled and pulled the light blond haired man close.

"It's ok Love, it's ok….I'll be here for you, I'll always be here for you."

"Y-You f-feel so cold…" the other whimpered as he touched his hand. "It's like you've been devoid of warmth for years!" Alfred bit his lip, remembering what he was and pulled back from their embrace.

"Arthur. You must get out of this colony; you and the other colonists must leave this area." He took the young man's hands and grasped them firmly within his own. "Please. It's the only way you'll be safe."

"W-What? Aren't you coming along with us?"

"No." Alfred mumbled to himself. "I….I have something I have to do….I can't go along with you."

"W-Why?" Arthur bellowed, locking eyes with his lover. "Why can't you?" Regrettably, Alfred looked away from the other man.

"It's because I…I traded my life for something else."

"Your life? You made a deal with the Devil didn't you? Did he leave a mark upon your soul?"

Alfred looked back at the now trembling man. "No. I did not make a deal with him. It was a deal with Death. The trading of lives; mine for his in order to save yours and the towns souls."

"Oh, no….." Arthur croaked, fearing the worst. "No….no…..no….please let it not be so!"

"I did." Alfred said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I don't want you to get hurt Arthur….and I might cause it." Arthur got to his feet, as if he didn't just recover from a deadly fever and started walking towards the door, back against the other Colonist.

"You're so different now…" his lover mumbled. "You might not know…but I can see it within you, and soon, you'll grow to realize it. You said you'd always be there for me….yet you turn around and tell me this."

Arthur's words sent spears right through his body. In a mixture of desperation and agony, Alfred called out;

"C-Can't you see? I'm doing all this for you!"

"I'd rather be dead than live without you!" Arthur shouted, whipping around to reveal clear tears dropping onto the ground. Their sad gazes met each other one last time before the blonde departed from the cabin. Alfred could only watch as everyone in the town eventually packed up some of their belongings and quickly headed out into the forest; disappearing within its branches. For if they wanted to escape Death, they had to do it.

When he was certain he was alone and that everyone had gone away from the horrid place, the newly made Reaper stepped out from the cabin, turning his attention to a nearby tree. Slowly, he began to carve the letters, CRO. Alfred stopped making the word he wanted and started over again on another tree, one that was in the direction of where the settlers had disappeared. There, he finished the word he was trying to make;

CROATOAN

If the colonist knew anywhere where the settlers might travel to it was the Croatoan Indians. They had been friendly towards the colonists before, perhaps they would show generosity now and shelter them. If John White and his crew decided to come back with supplies, they would just go looking for them, right?

"_It has to be this way."_ Alfred thought solemnly to himself. This way, he couldn't harm anyone or live up to his predecessor's expectations. He'd just keep away from everyone that mattered to him; one more kiss upon Arthur's sweet, warm lips might turn them deathly cold. A brush across his chest might stop the other's beating heart. The old Reaper didn't really think he'd kill people, did he? For a second a small smirk found its way onto Alfred's pale face. He was in control of his powers and his body. After all, the Grim Reaper had a choice to decide who lived and who died, right? Well, he'd just choose to not harm anyone and stay far away from civilization.

But a whisper was calling out to him, begging him to follow it.

There, standing next to the doorway stood the weapon; it's curved blade gleaming in the light.

"_Come."_ It whispered softly to him. _"Come and take your prize, your fate..."_

Before Alfred knew it, his feet were walking along the muddy path, back towards the abandoned cabin. His hand extended out to reach it. As soon as his hand grasped around the pole, the young colonist felt a surge of power go through his body. It wasn't anything like he'd felt before in the past; all this energy from this one weapon now in his possession made a small chuckle escape his throat. The thoughts from before erupted and transformed into a new perspective. He'd single handedly tricked Death into giving up its most powerful tool, the scythe. How men from previous ages must've dreamed of a moment like this and now, in the midst of vacant settlement that the English who came here used to call home, Alfred was holding it. Now it was he who was in control of the deadly device.

Forever.

He thrusted the thing up into the air in triumph. But the moment he did, something became terrible wrong. His blue eyes turned into something sharper, lacking the warmth the man had had for years. Slowly, he brought the thing back down to his side and turned towards the forest. His feet moved through the thickness of trees and branches silently, that even the brightest of the wildlife couldn't detect him within their homes. Wherever he was going he had no idea, yet the weapon seemed to be guiding him throughout the entire time. At last, his pace came to a stop and he gazed down upon his victim.

It was one of the men from before; a colonist who Alfred had the pleasure of seeing once or twice. Now he lay injured and abandoned down upon the ground; a big gash tearing at his side. He knew it, he just knew that his time was almost over, but it couldn't help to reason with what was considered once a modest colonist.

The young man looked up towards Alfred with eyes that were frozen in terror. As a last resort, he croaked out in terror.

"Pl-Please, have mercy on me! Have mercy!" In response to the other man's pitiful cries, the Reaper just gave an unnerving grin and brought the blade down onto the other's neck.

Crimson splattered across the floor, barely leaving any trace of what color the floor was underneath. Alfred removed the blade from the person's throat and wiped the excess blood from its tip. And then, as if awoken from a dream, the ex-colonist's bright blue eyes suddenly reappeared from under those dull, piercing ones. He could barely comprehend what laid on his hands, clothing, and face. And for a while, he stared at his hands in alarm. His eyes watched as some of the scarlet liquid ran down his to his arms. Awareness suddenly came to him and he began to tremble as he looked back at the corpse that now lay cold on the ground.

"_I…..I…..Killed him." _Those words which he thought played over and over again in his head. There more he thought about it, the more frightening it seemed. This wasn't supposed to happen; he was supposed to stay away from them, the civilized world so he wouldn't harm anyone. What had drove him to commit such an act he knew he would never cause?

A hateful glance was thrown at the discarded weapon. It was that thing, that _scythe._ It made him do it; made him kill that poor man. The voices from inside his head forced him to carry out the dirty deed.

And so Alfred ran from the scene, ran away from that loathed weapon. His tears blinded him, yet the forest felt no sympathy for the new Death; with each twig and branch the boy struck; a new red line appeared across his skin. He kept running until he tripped onto of a stone and fell to the ground where he laid; curled up, and trying to escape the true horror of his new existence.

But, no matter what, that twisted weapon would follow him to the ends of the earth, reminding what he had agreed to and what he must do. He had only reaped thirteen unfortunate old souls before he witnessed just how terrible the job could be. He found himself; scythe in hand at the bedside of a young boy who was dying of a fever. He hid the weapon away from the boy as soon as those eyes opened. It would be best not to scare him with what he was about to do.

The little boy looked at him, tilting his head slightly. Mister, why are you here? A hacking cough followed the boy's words. "A-Are you the new doctor my parents sent for? T-They said he'd be here in a week, b-but h-he never came. I-It's been 3 weeks now and s-still no man. Tell me; are you him?"

Alfred clenched his fists tightly together. He soon felt the same agony for the young child as he had back in the New World with that man. A face so young, so innocent and pure whose life would shortly end was almost too much for him to bear. Gaining some strength, he replied back.

"No little one, I'm not him."

"T-Then who are you? Have you come to make me better at least, or cheer me up?"

"I'm a friend." Alfred flat out lied, giving a fake smile towards the young one to ensure that he meant no actual harm. He outstretched his pale and cold hand out towards him. "Come; let's get you out of bed."

As soon as the young one took hold of the Reaper's hand, the spirit lifted itself out from the body it'd been trapped in for 6 years. Alfred's eyes widened in shock at the hand and then at the body that now laid motionless on the bed. The Ghost of the young boy tilted its head in confusion.

"Mister, is something wrong? You look paler than before." he noticed. "And I myself feel different, no longer heavy, but more light and free. Even my fever seems to have gone!" The little boy laughed, despite the heavy look upon Alfred's face. "Whatever you did, it worked! I shall tell Mother and Father right away!"

"Little one, you can't see them." The other's face fell before looking back at that equally sad face upon Alfred's.

"And why not? I'm feeling better; there's no need not to tell them!"

"I'm taking you to a special place." Alfred began, trying to make his voice sound as stable as possible. "It is one where your parents can not dwell yet."

"W-Will I see them again?" The boy asked, again tilting his head. He seemed more curious than frightened of where his destination might be.

"In due time, boy, in due time." The Reaper answered and outstretched his hand like before for the boy to grab hold of. "Let us go now. I hear your Grandmother calling for you."

"G-Grandmother?" The six year old asked excitedly and walked by Death's side. "B-But my parents said that I would never see her again! Has she come home?" Blue eyes locked with light brown. Alfred's face forced its way into a painful smile as they ascended into the bright light.

"No little one; you have."


End file.
